The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) finished its second investigative report on the Hambalang sports complex project and submitted the report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the House of Representatives on Friday
he Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) finished its second investigative report on the Hambalang sports complex project and submitted the report to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the House of Representatives on Friday.
Speaking after submitting the report to the KPK, BPK chief Hadi Purnomo said that the agency estimated that the project, which was transformed from a modest Rp 125 billion (US$11.6 million) single-year project into a multi-year project worth Rp 2.5 trillion, had caused state losses of Rp 463.6 billion.
The estimated state loss almost doubled from what was outlined in the BPK's first audit, where the agency found that the government lost at least Rp 243.6 billion.
The number included in the second audit, however, is not the final number as the BPK has not finished the final calculations, according to Hadi.
'We along with the KPK have been coordinating and we are currently finalizing the report [on the final calculation],' he told the press.
The report also sheds light on the role of some members of House Commission X overseeing sports, where 15 were involved in the deliberation of the project's budget markup.
It stated that the 15 legislators had violated the proper mechanism of budget deliberation in the House, where nine of them agreed to increase the 2010 budget allocation to the Youth and Sports Ministry by Rp 600 billion even though it had not been deliberated with the rest of the commission's members.
The 15 legislators in question were identified in the report by their initials, including four commissioners, MNS, RCA, HA and AHN. Other legislators identified included APPS and JA.
RCA, believed to be Rusli Chairul Azwar, tried to wash his hands of the case by saying that there was no way that a handful members of Commission could increase the budget allocation without proper deliberation.
'If there's a letter of agreement on budget allocation, then should the ones who signed it be held responsible? It should be the responsibility of all [members of the commission],' he told reporters after he was being questioned by the KPK as a witness in a separate graft case.
Rusli also said that there was no increase in the budget allocation for the ministry. 'Because all budget increases are decided in the House's budgetary committee, not in the commission,' he said.
The BPK also found some members of the commission that agreed to increase the ministry's budget by Rp 920 billion in 2011 without a proper discussion between the House's Commission X and the ministry.
Hadi said the report also shed further light on the role of the Finance Ministry in the case. He refused to elaborate on the matter, saying that he was bound by law to not disclose the content of the report since it was a secret investigative report.
The report stated that the Finance Ministry took part in bloating the project's budget and scale, as well as transforming it from a single-year project into a multi-year one.
The KPK has not yet detained the two high-profile suspects in the case ' former youth and sports minister Andi Mallarangeng and Anas Urbaningrum, the former chairman of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party ' as the commission was still waiting for the BPK to finish calculating the final state losses caused by the project.
Your thoughts matter - share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.